How many times have you tossed a bottle into the recycling bin without another thought?

Before I heard about this from a classmate of mine and read an article in the Practical Environmentalist,

I had no idea that bottle caps weren't recyclable.

Why Aren't Bottle Caps Recyclable? 

Most curbside recycling programs require that people remove the bottle caps from bottles before tossing them, but many people have not heard this. If the caps are off, any liquid that is left in the bottles will be dried out, allowing for cheaper transportation because of the reduced weight. Also, open bottles are easier to crush and bale than closed bottles full of air or liquid. Bottle caps tend to jam some recycling machines, too, and thus increases the cost of recycling plastic.

However, the most important reason that bottle caps aren't recycleable is that bottle and cap are usually made from different types of plastic. Typical plastic bottles will be made out of Polyethylene Terephthalate, or Plastic 1, but the caps of those bottles are made out of Polypropelene, or Plastic 5.

Because the two plastics melt differently, they have to be recycled separately. If even one bottle cap gets mixed in with a batch of plastic bottles, the entire lot will be ruined, and will have to be thrown away.

Workers are paid to stand at conveyor lines and sift through the recyclable material. This requires the workers to unscrew caps and remove garbage, which is also an enormous problem to recycling facilities. Hand sifting takes time, and it takes money, too- it's often much cheaper to throw away the entire batch than to slow down the conveyor lines for the workers to handle.

Above: the two million plastic bottles used in the United States every five minutes...

What to Do?

The solution is simple: take a moment of your time to unscrew your bottle caps before recycling them. You can either find a place to recycle your bottle caps separately later, or you can save them to make simple crafts. Most curbside recycling programs have a master recycling roundup from time to time that allows you to recycle your caps. However, it all depends on where you live and what program you go by. Know your information, and check for details on when you can recycle bottle caps at your local recycling program!

Or, you can just avoid buying plastic water bottles, and get a reusable water bottle that you don't throw away. Reusable water bottles are better for the environment and also safer for you to use! Polyethelene terepthalate, the plastic used to make the average soda bottle, can release carcinogens (the stuff that causes cancer) into the water when you freeze or heat them. So, by drinking water that's been left in the car for too long on a hot day, you have a small risk of becoming afflicted with cancer. That should give you enough motivation to stop buying plastic water bottles! 

Just keep spreading the word, and do your best to send in unscrewed bottles. So, did you know? Well, if you did, pat yourself on the back, but if you didn't, well, now you know!